


a duty of care

by iamirondad



Series: "fragile things, helpless things, broken things" whumptober 2020 [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:02:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26797792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamirondad/pseuds/iamirondad
Summary: Peter sucked in a sharp breath, and stood, dangerously still. He didn’t have to wonder, he knew exactly what this was.A spindly arm folded around his chest, holding him back.People around scattered, with screams and shrieks, some ducked behind a desk.“What—” Tony turned, and his jaw-dropping open; his cheeks drained of all colour, “Oh—”TLDR: Peter, is held at gunpoint, by a grieving mother, Tony has to talk her down.
Relationships: Cassie Lang & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: "fragile things, helpless things, broken things" whumptober 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947778
Comments: 11
Kudos: 331
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	a duty of care

**Author's Note:**

> Set after Endgame (But Tony lived)

Peter loved travelling to the new and approved, post-Thanos Headquarters, with Tony.

He loved watching Tony interact with the staff and interns, especially if they’d never spoken to him, _properly_ before.

The way their faces would light up, their shoulders would relax, and they’d smile, because Tony, was one of the easiest people to have a conversation with.

People never expected that.

They built an image of him, even Peter was guilty of that when they first met.

From how the media portrayed him, Tony was a ‘ _no shit elitist billionaire_ ,’ with no time for _‘common folk,_ ’ who spent his days, surrounded by his creations. In reality, he was one of the kindest people, Peter had ever met and had the fortune, to love.

Tony cared for his personnel, even before handing the company over to Pepper, and as _second-in-command,_ he still did. They paid triple, sometimes even quadruple of what was expected for every role, from the janitors to the infirmary staff. They took care of their sick staff, retired staff, and gave new parents, three years off, if they wanted it.

Tony understood that he had too much money, for one person, that he’d never truly need. Some of it was built up, from illegal activity, thanks to Stane. That was something he desperately wanted to fix.

Nobody cared more than Tony Stark, he proved that when he laid down his life, for the universe, but the media still labelled him as a ‘ _war profiteer_ ,’ despite him leaving that part of his father’s legacy behind.

“So…” Tony nudged Peter’s arm with his shoulder as they walked through the main lobby, “You’re training with Rhodey today, right?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s he got planned?”

“Not sure.” He shrugged, “Probably something exhausting.”

“Ha.” Tony cackled, “He only does it because he cares.”

Peter rolled his eyes, “I guess.

A staff member walked past, she smiled, “Good morning, Peter!”

He awkwardly waved, “Hey.”

Tony reached over, pinching his cheek, “You’re a total fan favourite here, kiddo.”

Peter narrowed his eyes, “Only because you won’t stop talking about me.”

“I can talk about _whomever_ I choose.”

“Mr. Stark!” An intern, only a few years older than Peter, charged over, with his hand raised, “Do you have a moment?”

“Of course.” Tony grinned, “Henry, right?”

Henry’s eyes widened, “Yeah, that’s right.”

Tony stepped aside, with him, “What’s up?”

“I’ve got a question about, the aircraft my team are working on—”

Peter lingered, looking around.

The staff greeted him, with smiles and waves, even those he’d never met or seen around.

Cassie skipped by, with a box in her arms, “Oh, hey Peter!”

“Hey, Cass.” He looked at the box of random stuff in her arms, "You seem busy." 

"We're working on my suit!" She exclaimed, "You need to pop by Hope’s office later." 

“That’s so cool.” He said excitedly, “Yeah, I’ll come up after training.”

"Ah." She grinned, "I can't wait to train with you."

"It will be amazing," He smiled, "Have you got a name yet?"

"Dad was thinking Peanut," She rolled her eyes, "But Mum and Hope said Stature, that's my favourite." 

"Stature's amazing."

"Thanks." She backed up, towards the elevator, "See you soon."

“See you.”

Peter bounced, back and forth, on his heels. He wondered if he should head up, Tony would find him.

He turned to make a move but mindlessly halted.

The hairs on his arm, and the back of his neck, stood on edge.

He reached out, for Tony’s arm, but before he could, something _cold_ was pressed against his temple.

He looked aside, to make sure Cassie had got into the elevator, she was gone, that was good, at least she was safe. 

Peter sucked in a sharp breath, and stood, dangerously still. He didn’t have to wonder, he knew exactly what this was.

A spindly arm folded around his chest, holding him back.

People around scattered, with screams and shrieks, some ducked behind a desk.

“What—” Tony turned, and his jaw-dropping open; his cheeks drained of all colour, “Oh—”

He doesn’t have anything with him, to stop this.

Peter stood strong, taking slow and even breaths. He locked his eyes onto Tony. Peter knew he could disarm whoever was holding him, but the gun was pushed against his head, if they were trigger happy, it could still hit him, or worse, _somebody_ around him.

“Okay.” Tony relaxed his arms beside him, “Pete, keep your eyes on me.”

He did.

Tony looked aside, shaking his head; Peter guessed he was directing his security staff to stand down.

“Hannah?” Tony’s voice was gentle, “It’s Hannah, isn’t it? Biotech division?” He held up his hands, in front of him, “I’ve heard that you’re quite clever. You’ve proven that, by being able to sneak that gun in. How’d you manage that?”

“I—” She didn’t sound confident, with her action, but she pushed through, “It doesn’t matter.”

Peter could see Tony’s panic, and how he was mentally planning ways to secure the building more than he already had.

She stammered, “You know my name?”

“I know everybody’s names.” Tony told her, “I’m good with faces.”

“I thought you didn’t care.”

“Who me?” Tony rested a hand on his chest, “Oh, I do, sometimes too much.”

She snapped, “You just throw money into everything.”

“Maybe, but I guess that’s my conscience, and I do like helping people.” He assured her, “And I wanna help you.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“I’m not.” Tony spoke softly, although his hands were shaking, “I do care, about you, and the kid—”

“You’re lying.” She spat, “You don’t care about anyone!”

“I know what happened to you.” He said cautiously, “Your son, Simon—he was—”

She shrieked, “Don’t say his name!”

“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry,” Tony nodded, “But if you let Peter go, then I can help you.”

“It’s your fault!” She yelled, “I lost _my_ Simon, in the blip, and it was the worst five years of my life!”

Peter frowned, trying to catch up.

He knew it wasn’t easy, for people who lost those they loved and then got them back, after five years without them.

According to Tony, the grief never went away. Peter would catch him staring like he was looking right through him as if he was nothing more than an apparition.

“Then you and your blasted team brought him back again!” She screamed, “I got my second chance, and he was taken from me again, by _fucking_ drunk driver!”

Peter flinched, closing his eyes. She’d lost her son, within the first year, of having him back. He couldn’t imagine.

He hated to admit it but, if he were to die, it would destroy Tony. That was one of the reasons, he was more committed to being a Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man, instead of an Avenger.

Hannah bellowed, “You shouldn’t have meddled, I lost my boy _twice_!”

Tony’s face contorted, “I can’t imagine.” He gestured, to Peter, “But—but, do you know he is?”

“No.”

“He’s my kid.”

“That’s a _lie_ —” She cried, “You don’t have a son.”

“Peter came into my life, much later on,” He explained, “But—he is my kid, and he means the world to me, I can’t lose him, Hannah.” His voice trembled slightly, “He was a victim of Thanos as well, do you understand?”

The arm locked around Peter’s front trembled.

“I don’t think you want to hurt anybody, not really.” Tony took a small step forward, “You want people to see you and understand what you’re going through, _yeah_?”

Hannah mumbled inaudibly.

“I promise, that if you let _my_ kid go, nothing bad is going to happen to you.” He vowed, “I’m gonna do all I can, to help you get the support that you need.”

Hannah choked out a sob, her hold around Peter wavered, and she dropped the gun, to the floor.

“Stay!” Tony ordered, halting the security who were ready to swarm her, “Peter—” He held out his arm, grabbing his wrist and pulling him over, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

Tony bent down, brushing a hand through Peter’s curls and pressing a kiss against his forehead.

Tony looked to the intern, “Watch him please.”

Henry nodded, resting a hand on Peter’s shoulder.

Tony moved over, kicking Hannah’s gun aside.

The elevator doors opened, Scott, Hope, and Cassie emerged, frightened looks written across their faces. Scott and Hope, stood in front, suited up, but their shoulders relaxed, when their eyes locked onto Tony.

Cassie pushed through them, "Peter!" She crashed into him, pulling him into a hug, "Oh, my-" 

He folded his arms around her, "Hey."

"Are you okay?" She leaned back, "Friday told us what was happening, and we--" 

She offered her a smile, "I'm fine." 

Cassie turned, to look, at Hannah and Tony, she kept a hand rested against Peter's arm. 

Hannah looked over at them, but cast her eyes away, looking at the ground, "I'm sorry, " She blubbered, bringing a hand to her mouth, “I’m sorry, I’d _never_ would—I want—I just—”

He placed a hand, on her shoulder, “I understand.”

Peter’s mouth twitched, into a smile, because at the end of the day, nobody cared more than Tony Stark.

**Author's Note:**

> Cassie and Peter need to become friends, that's all I need. I feel like he'd be such a big brother, to her, even though, they are now similar ages, haha. Thanks, Thanos 🙄


End file.
